Is it because of the calming influence of Terry Francona and the other leaders in the clubhouse? Is it because the race for the final AL wild card spot is full of flawed teams? Or is it just a complete luck of the draw? Somehow, this ball club, with all its imperfections, now has only three games sitting between them and a playoff berth. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he discusses the highlights of Sunday's walk-off win.

Triple-A Columbus infielder Zach Walters continues to impress in the early going since the Indians acquired him last week from the Cardinals in exchange for Justin Masterson. The Indians really like Walters, and you can see why on days like Sunday when he mashes two homers. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recaps the impressive showing for Walters and much more as he takes us Around the Farm....

With Sunday's sweep, the Indians find themselves right back in the Wildcard race. In this MLB News and Notes segment, I will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the unfortunate news for Paul Goldschmidt, the Padres closing in on their new GM, and more.

It started rough, eased up late and ended so smooth. Operating in extra innings against the Rangers knotted in a 3-3 tie, Cleveland's favorite doctor came up and saved the life of the game. On a 3-2 pitch from Texas rookie Phil Klein in the bottom of the 12th, Michael Brantley lined a walk-off solo homer into the visitors bullpen to give the Indians a 4-3 victory Sunday. Join IBI Tribe beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps the series sweep from the ballpark.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. After looking at the pitchers last week, today we focus on the hitters. In particular, Jim Piascik focuses on the success Francisco Lindor and Erik Gonzalez have found since their respective promotions to Columbus and Akron. Join Jim as he goes in-depth on the advanced stats for Cleveland's minor leaguers and takes you into The WAR Room.

Not even Jim Thome envisioned a day like this. For him, being immortalized at the top of Indians record books and among some of the game's greats was an accomplishment already. Playing 22 years in the big leagues, 12 of them with the Tribe, he first became a household name in Cleveland during the mid-90s, and soon, an iconic baseball legend across the country. Join IBI Indians beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps a memorable day for Thome during his statue unveil ceremony.

On a night where Jim Thome was immortalized in bronze, the Cleveland and Texas bats participated in an evening of silence, as the Cleveland Indians found their way back to .500, defeating the Rangers, 2-0. The performance of T.J. House - while brief, proved to be the defining performance of the night. The IBI's John Grimm breaks down T.J. House by presenting another lefty breakout pitcher as a perfect-world projection: the Houston Astros' Dallas Keuchel.

Not every night in the Cleveland organization can be filled with eye-catching performances, as sometimes each team has a collective down night. That was the case Saturday, but while any insane two-homer or nine-inning shutout outings were absent, there were still some interesting performances to behold. Join Arthur Kinney as he recaps those performances, including Zach Walters highlighting Around the Farm for the second straight night, and takes you Around the Farm.

Two runs on five hits. Talk about a unique way for the current Indians team to honor Jim Thome's No. 25. Well, maybe not exactly, but that would be all the runs and hits the Tribe offense needed Saturday. A two run sixth inning was enough for Cleveland to shutout the Rangers, 2-0 to win their second straight against Texas. Join IBI Tribe beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps the win from the ballpark.

After struggling at the outset of the 2014 campaign, Akron RubberDucks outfielder Jordan Smith has really turned things around in the second half, which included hitting for the cycle last weekend against Reading. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he talks in-depth with Smith as well as manager Dave Wallace about the outfielder's recent success and what he needs to do to maintain it.

Following up on a surprising two-year trend of beating the Texas Rangers, the Cleveland Indians bounced back from three straight series opener losses with a decisive 12-2 victory over Texas. Taking the hill for Cleveland was Danny Salazar, who threw six innings with only one unearned run scoring. The IBI's John Grimm examine's Salazar's performance, the pitcher's success on Friday, why such success was unlikely, and the positive regression experienced by the Dominican right-hander.

Recently acquired infielder Zach Walters made his organizational debut for the Indians on Friday night and had a big game for Triple-A Columbus collecting three hits. The IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps his performance along with all the other performances up and down the Indians system as he goes Around the Farm...

All it takes is a flip of the calendar. With just two months of the regular season remaining on the schedule, the Tribe offense flipped the switch on high to jump-start an important stretch of baseball in August and September that lie ahead. The club exploded for a dozen runs on 16 hits to rout Texas in the series opener, 12-2. Join IBI Indians beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps the win from the ballpark.

The Indians got off to a hot start to open up the month of August. Can they keep it rolling on Saturday? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on Cliff Lee's latest injury, an embattled former closer given his walking papers, a possible target for the Red Sox in the offseason, and more.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. However, today is a special edition of The WAR Room taking a look at Cleveland's deadline acquisitions: James Ramsey and Zach Walters. We have all seen the scouting reports and raw stat lines written about and tweeted, but what do the advanced stats say? Join Jim Piascik as he delves into what the numbers say about the two newest members of the Cleveland organization and takes you into The WAR Room.

This is a new feature piece here at the IBI that specifically looks at some of the prospects that have maybe not had as much attention they deserve for a variety of reasons but who are interesting or are coming onto the scene. This week we take a look at a hitter, shortstop Yu-Cheng Chang at rookie level Arizona. What kind of prospect is he? How is his bat and defense? What kind of future does he have? The IBI's Tony Lastoria provides some information on all of that and more...

With the fate of their season continuing to hang precariously in the balance, the Tribe entered the eighth inning of Thursday's rubber match against the Mariners with a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, the battle was won by Mike Zunino as he lined a 2-0 cutter from Bryan Shaw over the left field wall for a two-run homer as Seattle emerged victorious taking two out of three in the series. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he gives his thoughts on the loss.

The trade deadline has come and gone with Cleveland adding to two interesting prospects to their farm system. James Ramsey and Zach Walters will make their organizational debuts in the coming days, but on Thursday, the stage was set for two players on the opposite ends of the prospect spectrum; one at the beginning and one near the end. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Bobby Bradley's season in the Arizona League, Adam Miller's shutdown outing in Akron, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

As teams bolstered their rosters across the country Thursday, the Indians were busy subtracting players from their big league team, not adding them. It showed on the field in the rubber match with Seattle. Leading Seattle 5-4 in the eighth, right-hander Bryan Shaw served up what became the game-winning homer to Mariners catcher Mike Zunino, as the Mariners edged Cleveland, 6-5. Join IBI Tribe beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps the loss from the ballpark.

It's officially August and the trading deadline has come and gone. Will the focus for the Indians continue to be to make the playoffs? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the big trades that occurred at the trading deadline, two injury updates on Tribe players, Cliff Lee's injury on Thursday, and more.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!